Healthcare and pharmaceutical advertising in the U.S. is highly regulated, particularly when it comes to direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. The Food and Drug Administration oversees DTC advertising to ensure that the ethical, medical and legal requirements they have set forth are upheld in all consumer-marketing messages, regardless of channel. The FDA has been slow to provide clear guidance on digital and new media marketing, which has resulted in a conservative approach to digital marketing for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.

The Challenge: We were tasked with building a website about PillCam® SB, a new device for assessing Crohn’s disease in the small bowel.

The Objectives: To raise awareness about PillCam SB among people living with Crohn’s and motivate them to talk with their doctors about the device.

The Strategy: Focus groups and surveys revealed that the majority of Crohn’s patients we spoke with were frustrated and worried about their current treatment plans. They were in the dark.

We wanted to create an experience that would help patients shed some light — literally and figuratively — on their Crohn’s. We also needed to convey the high-tech device’s capabilities.

The Execution: We delivered an experiential website that simulates PillCam SB’s journey through the human GI tract. Along the way, information and visuals shed light on Crohn’s disease and PillCam SB’s capabilities. Visitors are also able to build a customized discussion guide that helps them talk with their doctors. http://www.pillcamcrohns.com/

To build awareness of the site, we ran a cost-conscious, laser-focused pay-per-click campaign.

The Results: In just a couple of months, the site saw thousands of visitors, and nearly 1,000 people downloaded the doctor discussion guide. Paid search increased site visits by 761.6% from the previous month.

The Goal: Our goal was to create a website that would raise awareness about PillCam SB among Crohn’s disease patients located throughout the United States. We were specifically interested in reaching those who had already been diagnosed with Crohn’s but felt that their current treatment plans might not be working.

More importantly, we wanted to get patients talking with their doctors about how PillCam SB could help improve their treatment plans.

Due to legal concerns with a competitor, we were limited on how we could market or talk about the device, its features and its patient benefits. The team also had several recommendations on how to leverage the concept behind PillCamCrohns.com throughout a fully integrated campaign. However, budgetary limitations restricted the project scope to one website and a pay-per-click campaign.

Execution: Launched in May of 2013, PillCamCrohns.com focused on reaching Crohn’s patients throughout the United States.

The site simulates PillCam SB’s journey through the body. Along the way, information and visuals shed light on Crohn’s disease and PillCam SB’s capabilities. Visitors are also prompted with questions about their disease and treatment. Responses are captured, ultimately building a customized discussion guide that helps them talk with their doctors.

Visitors are also given the ability to dive deeper into the content areas that interest them most — whether they want to learn more about Crohn’s in the small bowel, see details on how PillCam works, or read enlightening stories from patients who have actually used it.

To build awareness of the new site, we ran a cost-conscious, laser-focused pay-per-click campaign.

Results: Bringing PillCam SB out of the dark has proven to be a bright idea. It’s helped shed light on Crohn’s disease and introduced a truly revolutionary device to thousands of patients.

Our paid search campaign increased site visits by 761.6% in just one month, and nearly 70% of those visitors completed the interactive experience. In just a couple of months, nearly 1,000 visitors downloaded their customized doctor discussion guides.

The site exceeded traditional metrics by far. Visitors stayed on the site for an average of 4:06 minutes, more than doubling the industry average.

Patients loved the site, and their enthusiasm translated into big industry buzz. PillCamCrohns.com was recognized with press mentions, speaking opportunities for key project leaders and numerous awards, including:

-OMMA: Web Site Excellence

-OMMA: Member’s Choice

-CLIO: Microsite/Website

-Rx Club Award: Consumer Website

-PM360 Pharma Choice: Consumer Website

-And counting

The Strategy: Through focus groups, surveys and open dialogue, we started gathering stories from Crohn’s patients. Our findings? They were frustrated and worried about their current treatment plans. They were in the dark.

PillCam SB is a vitamin-sized capsule equipped with a camera. You swallow it with water, and as it moves through the GI tract, it literally sheds light on your condition and transmits images to a recorder worn on the waist.

To relate this high-tech device’s capabilities in an engaging and enlightening way, we wanted to create a uniquely conceptual experience that would bring patients out of the dark — literally and figuratively.

We also knew that to really showcase PillCam SB, our website had to level up to the bar set by the device itself. More importantly, we had to get patients to talk with their doctors about it.

The Current Situation: Of the estimated 1 million people who suffer from Crohn’s disease, 75% have lesions in their small bowel. Since traditional diagnostic methods can’t view this area directly, many patients were left without a clear image of what was happening in their bodies — or how to treat it. PillCam SB is a vitamin-sized capsule equipped with a miniature video camera that provides direct images of the small bowel. It goes where other tools simply can’t. But awareness was low. Crohn’s patients didn't know it existed, and they certainly weren't talking with their doctors about it.